Although they lose more often than they win, the Varsity Blues football team draws a great deal of attention. In contrast, U of T’s Ultimate Frisbee team has won three national championships, yet remains an unknown presence on campus.
U of T team Torontula won the Canadian University Ultimate Championships this October. In an intense game against the University of Alberta, the team secured their third title as national champions with a final score of 15-11.
“There was a question if the team could keep up the success with the old leadership gone,” said Taylor Martin, one of the team’s three captains. After ten of the team’s starting players graduated, Martin was nervous about whether they could hold onto their title.
He credits the team’s former captains, Peter Jamieson and Kirk Nylen, for implementing a training model that allowed the team to continue as national champions. “They basically brought the team back from nothing,” Martin explained.
Despite their success, Torontula gets little recognition. Practicing five days a week and without any money from the school, Ultimate Frisbee players are committed with their time and resources.
“[You spend] all these mornings training, practicing, spending your own money, for what really is no glory, except within your own community,” said Martin. “Those who do it, do it because they love it.”
Martin attributes Torontula’s quiet campus presence to the fact that very few people are aware that Ultimate is a competitive sport. “People who play [intramurals] tend to think ‘oh this is fun.’ They think that this is all Ultimate Frisbee has to offer. They don’t even realize that people take this very seriously,” said Martin.
Martin believes that intramurals help bolster appreciation of the sport. Engaging people at less competitive levels is important in increasing Ultimate Frisbee’s popularity. “Most people who try it really do enjoy it. [It’s] a matter of making people aware, and getting them to come the first time,” Martin described. “I think the onus is on us as players to promote it.”
This lack of widespread popularity brings with it a different, more genuine crowd. Players are not doing it for the glory, per se, and are more committed to the sport itself.
“What [a lack of popularity] means is that it draws different sorts of people; it draws fewer big jocks,” added Martin. However, those who compete in Ultimate Frisbee are not lacking in athleticism. “At the high levels, everybody is a very good athlete,” explained Martin. “People take it very seriously, like any other sport.”
According to Martin, the most important aspect of Ultimate Frisbee is that it is all-inclusive. “The university has a team. We do very well, and everyone is welcome. All it takes to play is commitment, and that’s it.”
